that p'n'r we saw with Dwight in the 4th needs to be used far more. It's way to deadly.

But yeah, Nash has (like many of us predicted) completely changed this team. For once this season, we have a real team. Pau played well, Artest was awesome, Dwight needs more points but was still dominant, and the bench played good enough.

I am hopeful the the days of Kobe bringing the ball up and trying to go 1 on 3 or forcing a pass are gone.

But honestly it's all about a system. It's not that hard to force a guy baseline if everyone (including your bigs) are on the same page. Communication and team defense > individual defense most of the time.

Most point guards aren't good defenders, but if they shade their opponent into traps and help defense, it works out.

He did do a great job of contesting Felton's shots from an individual perspective though.

Slava laughed at the suggestion his skills might be affected by the down time. "Are you kidding?" he said. "Basketball is like ball. It's all a circle."

"The first time I ever saw my uniform hanging in the locker I put it on right away, and it just felt like I was putting on golden armour. From that day forward, I just called it 'the golden armour', it just felt like there was something mystical and magical about it" - Kobe Bryant.

"The first time I ever saw my uniform hanging in the locker I put it on right away, and it just felt like I was putting on golden armour. From that day forward, I just called it 'the golden armour', it just felt like there was something mystical and magical about it" - Kobe Bryant.

Scary thought -- this is only his second game back. We look like a completely different team with him back.

Am I the only one who expects him to make every pass he throws or make every shot he shoots? I mean, I know he won't and can't...but DAMN he makes everything out there that he does look so incredibly easy.

I am just thrilled that Nash has so much left in the tank. He looks like he isn't even up to full speed yet. Having 3 champions and 2 conference championship tested veterans to play out the end of the game seems to be working to our advantage

Man, Nash is proving that my fears and doubts were stright up FOOLISH. He is so steady, so clutch and such a COMPETITOR. With Nash at the helm, and Kobe getting many more easy looks off-ball, this team is WAY more dangerous. We looked like a championship level team today...if only in controlled spurts. I am having so much fun trying to imagine what this team is going to look like after a month or so of building chemistry.

If we can use Jamison for more scoring, and Ebanks DEFENSIVELY (instead of Darius Morris) on guys like Melo/Durant/LeBron, then we can be even more dangerous. I think we could even use Earl Clark's 6 fouls to make the dominant SFs (and undersized 4's) work for their points... If we add just one more player off the bench, either by playing DJO some minutes or by cutting a player and adding someone new to the roster, then this team can become DOMINANT. SO EXCITED for tomorrow.

The End is nigh. Time for a total Cut and Shuffle. Kobe contract was a mistake...time to avoid making more. The future is here, whether we want it to be or not. An era is over, but for the death rattle, and it's time for the cycle to begin anew. Growth and change are scary and painful, but alas...nothing worth achieving comes easily.

No one in the NBA can stop Westbrook when he is hot. Just like Melo, even MWP did a great job on him today, but he got his points anyway.

The key is, let Nash attack Westbrook and make him play defense too to wear him down. I think one of the reason why the Lakers could come back to win the last three games was because their size worn the other teams down at the end of games.

Rooscooter wrote:Only complaint is that it was too many minutes.... we need to find a way to have this level of success with the starters at or near about 32 minutes or so.

Totally Agree with this! We need to not only make sure our top flight players are fresh for the playoffs, but we also need to develop the reserves that we have and make sure that our entire roster gets some kind of comfort on the floor going into the playoffs, just in case someone gets into foul trouble or is hurt.

The game we played today was more indicative of how the playoffs are played, with starters logging heavy minutes, but we should be able to make it through games against the majority of opponents while resting the starters for more than 10 minutes each. If not, we may not have enough left in the tank to make a serious push.

For now, I am only mildly concerned about the sustainability of our top heavy roster. So far, I am encouraged by the progress we are making, and by the impact of Nash and a healthy Pau Gasol. I think we should be good enough, very soon, to be able to play our bench more often. I really hope that happens. Nonetheless, it should be fun to watch.

The End is nigh. Time for a total Cut and Shuffle. Kobe contract was a mistake...time to avoid making more. The future is here, whether we want it to be or not. An era is over, but for the death rattle, and it's time for the cycle to begin anew. Growth and change are scary and painful, but alas...nothing worth achieving comes easily.

You've crossed into the light No more trade Howard he's wrong guy and Nash isn't going to help enough at his age..... We've got ourselves a team again and if we can stay away from key long injuries this is going to be fun to watch the team come together. Un freaking believable Nash could not run for 7 weeks, finally gets a couple days of practice and his first contact scrimmage in and then BOOM goes his dynamite 1st 2 games back logging heavy minutes. What an amazing, supremely skilled athlete.

Last edited by LTLakerFan on Wed Dec 26, 2012 1:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

Nash is a good team defender ... he understands the concept of denying the ball and certain spots on the floor to his man ( like the middle) very well ... and gives a very good effort

it is the scorer PGs who attack him all the time he has huge trouble with ... he doesn't contest their shot release very well and hasn't a strong base to pressure and bother them "low body" wise ... see his game against Jack or Lillard... they were able to get into their rhythm and hit J after J.

He's a fantastic offensive player though and his screens ala Stockton are an underrated part of his game

Nash is actually a very intelligent defender, he just lacks the athleticism to a certain extent. He has quick feet but hes not explosive like most point guards. We have also never seen Nash with a good defensive team behind him, playing in Phoenix kind of made him look worse then he actually was. To put it simply, having an intelligent defender like Nash is tolerable with a guy like Dwight protecting the rim.

At least I can say this, hes the best defensive PG we've had on this team in years. And that in itself is an upgrade.

Nash played good this game, but still not able to convince me in defense. Let's wait to see him playing against Westbrook, Parker and Paul 1st.

Yes, let's see how he compares to people that no one in the league can guard and then say his defense sucks because he doesn't shut them down.

It's not to shut them down, but to see the outcome when facing our true opponents in playoffs. With the help of D12 in defense, let's see can we do better than previous years. As we know, PG is always our weakest position.